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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26665555">Heartbreaker</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OptimisticEmotion/pseuds/OptimisticEmotion'>OptimisticEmotion</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Adrien Agreste/Ladybug - Freeform, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng - Freeform, Emily Agreste Styled Hugs, Everyone looking out for Marinette, F/M, Guilt, Heartbreak, Mother/Daughter Bonding, Moving On, Rejected Feelings, Team Dynamics, Time Travel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:03:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,374</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26665555</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OptimisticEmotion/pseuds/OptimisticEmotion</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien rejects Marinette's feelings for him as nicely as he can. The whole class even steps in to see she's alright afterward. But in the end, Hawkmoth still manages to get a heartbroken teenager akumatized and it's worse than Master Fu could have ever pictured.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>218</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Crush On</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>                "I'm sorry, Marinette," Adrien glanced around desperately, hoping this was just a bad dream. She was one of his best friends, but he just didn't feel that way for her. It was bad enough he had to break her heart as Chat Noir -- only for her dad to get back at him for it by getting akumatized on his daughter's behalf -- but now he was breaking her heart as Adrien Agreste, in front of the whole class.</p><p>                "No," Marinette interrupted him. He could see the tears forming in her eyes even as she smiled up at him. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"</p><p>                "Don't!" Adrien spoke, unable to stop himself. He took her hand in his and held it close to his chest. "Please, Marinette, please, never apologize for being honest with me. I may not like you romantically, but you're one of the most amazing girls I know. I hate not being able to feel the same way for you, but I would hate it even more if you had to go on one more day without an answer. That's no way to live."</p><p>                Marinette blinked up at him, the tears in her eyes slowly spilling out with each blink. Her smile warmed into something a little more genuine, though still plenty hurt. She lowered her gaze and moved so that she was burring her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around him.</p><p>                "Thank you, Adrien," she answered with a hiccup. "I don't blame you; you can't just change how you feel."</p><p>                Adrien moved to wrap his arms around her, but she moved before he could. Within a blink of an eye, Adrien watched as his Everyday Ladybug ran out of the room in tears, her best friend Alya close behind her.</p><p>                "Dude, I hope she'll be okay. I don't ever want to see what an Akumatized Marinette looks like," Nino shook his head. Adrien frowned.</p><p>                "That's not even remotely funny, man. What was I supposed to do? I love another girl," Adrien asked. He looked around the class to see nearly every girl, aside from Chloe, Sabrina, and Lila of course, all looked heartbroken on Marinette's behalf.</p><p>                "It'll be alright, Dude. I've known Marinette since we were kids! She'll, well, she'll still be your friend, but, uh, if anyone has Ladybug or Chat Noir on speed dial, we might want to call them," Nino patted him on the shoulder.</p><p>                "Come on, man, I said that wasn't funny!" Adrien knocked Nino's hand off his shoulder in a fury.</p><p>                "I'm not being funny!" Nino argued back, trying to explain. "Look, I know Marinette. When she feels something, she feels it all the way. She's strong, sure, but before she's strong, sometimes she's weak. I've seen her use that weakness to rebuild herself even stronger than before. Remember back when I used to have a crush on her, back before I started going out with Alya? That's one of the reasons why!"</p><p>                The entire class just blinked at Nino as what he said began to sink in. However, the DJ wasn't done.</p><p>                "By this time tomorrow, I bet you anything that Marinette will be a force to reckon with, and she'll probably be laughing with you like nothing happened. But right now, she's crushed, probably feeling absolutely humiliated, and she's feeling that with the entirety of that giant Marinette sized heart of hers." Adrien felt his gut drop and he hung his head. "It's not your fault man. It's better than you leading her on, and you let her down easy, you did. Let the girl feel hurt for a moment, and she'll feel better after. So, seriously, does anyone know how we can get ahold of Ladybug or Chat Noir?"</p><p>                "Oh! I know!" Mylene called out from her seat with her hand in the air. "Lila can call her! After all, everyone knows Lila's Ladybug's best friend!"</p><p>                "Yeah! Lila, get her on the phone!" Kim joined in.</p><p>                "There's a 97% certainty that Ladybug would be over in no time at the word of someone as important to her as Lila!" Max called out the statistics.</p><p>                "I, uh, can't, she's out of the country today!" Lila announced to the horror of her classmates. "Trust me, she didn't want to leave Paris, even for just a few hours, but it was urgent. She said she couldn't tell me all about the details, but I can't call her today!"</p><p>                "Oh, just our luck!" Alix cried out. "Our Every Day Ladybug could be akumatized at any moment, and our real Ladybug is MIA!"</p><p>                "This is bad, what if Marinette gets stuck as an akuma? What can we do without our class rep? She's too important, and she gives us cookies!" Rose lamented.</p><p>                "This is, and, yeah-" Juleka muttered to Rose, agreeing how terrible the situation was.</p><p>                "Oh, puh-lease!" Chloe called loudly from the front of the room, boredly applying lip gloss. "If Dupain-Cheng was the type of freak who let herself get akumatized over a tiny rejection that she <em>clearly</em> saw coming, then she <em>would</em> have been akumatized over a million and one things before now!"</p><p>                "This isn't something to blow off, Chloe, Marinette's really hurting right now." Adrien confronted his childhood friend.</p><p>                "No, you guys are the ones blowing off Dupain-Cheng," Chloe rolled her eyes. "Seriously. Has it really escaped everyone's notice that 'Little-Miss-Perfect' is the only one in here who <em>hasn’t</em> been akumatized? Not even once?" Chloe stood up and put her hands to her hips. She looked around the room of morons around her. She then turned her doe eyes to Adrien. "Of course, neither has Adriekins, but that's to be expected."</p><p>                "She really hasn't, has she?" Nathaniel muttered quietly from the back of the room. It didn't matter that he was quiet, as the entire room was silent in the realization.</p><p>                "Duh!" Chloe started again. "So, would you all, PUH-LEASE, stop talking about Dupain-Cheng as if she's already been turned? It's depressing and dull. And honestly, if after everything, that little nobody actually gets possessed because of something <em>this</em> lame, then I'd have to say that I would be disappointed in her. Utterly, disappointed!"</p><p>                Everyone stared at the class bully, unsure what to say. Chloe just now did nothing but rant and insult Marinette behind the girl's back, but it also sounded like Chloe was trying to sing Marinette's praises, in the only way a brat like Chloe Bourgeois knew how.</p><p>                "So, what should we do?" Ivan asked from his seat, not sure how else to address the lost feeling in the air at that moment.</p><p>                "Do whatever you want. I'm going to fix my nails; they look a disaster!" Chloe dismissed the large boy entirely and sat back down, nail file already in hand.</p>
<hr/><p>                In the locker room, Marinette was sitting on the floor, back to her locker, sobbing her heart out. Alya had sat next to her the moment the bluette had stopped moving and had pulled her best friend in a hug as Marinette let all of her tears go.</p><p>                "I- I feel so stupid," she sobbed.</p><p>                "Don't. You heard him, and he was right, it was better you get an answer," Alya replied, rubbing circles into her arms.</p><p>                "I don't know what I was thinking! Months of not being able to pull it off, countless plots to get the mood just right for it, and it comes out by accident because I meant to ask if he heard that stupid new song."</p><p>                "It's an awesome song, by your favorite artist, and I'm proud of you for having finally said it, accident or not." Alya nuzzled the top of Marinette's head. It really had taken the whole class off guard, especially Marinette, when the baker's daughter walked right up to Adrien and confessed her feelings for him. The thing was, the song was Crush On by Jagged Stone, and Marinette kept describing it has a 'huge hit'. So, when she walked up to Adrien to talk about it, what really came out of her mouth was 'I heard huge Crush On hit!', bumbling her words as always. For once it worked in her favor as what Adrien had heard was 'I have a huge crush on you!'</p><p>                Adrien, trying to be sure what he had just heard, as Marinette had tried to shove six words out of her mouth at once as per usual around the boy, had repeated it back: 'You have a huge crush on me?' And Marinette just froze before squeaking out 'Is that what I just said?'. Adrien confirmed that was what she had indeed just said, and Marinette, by some grace of a higher power managed to nod her head that, yes, she did in fact, have a huge crush on him.</p><p>                Thus, Adrien was left with the unenviable task of rejecting the perfect girl. Alya shook her head as Marinette tried to control her breathing.</p><p>                "I should stop, I need to stop, negativity attracts them."</p><p>                "No, you're human and you need to feel your emotions," Alya argued. "You're heartbroken, Girl, feel your heart break. I'll fight off any nasty akuma that tries to interrupt your break down and when you're done breaking, I'll be right here to help you piece it all back together. Good as new. Okay?" Alya felt a small shaking in the form of a chuckle out of the other girl.</p><p>                "Okay," Marinette looked up to her and shared a smile. "Thank you, Alya, you're the best friend any girl could ask for."</p><p>                "Damn straight, I am," Alya agreed with a pat on Marinette's head. "That you could ask for at least, cause it's not like you can have the perfect best friend. I've already claimed her."</p><p>                Marinette chuckled again and sighed into Alya's embrace. She was still hurting, but thanks to Alya, it was a bearable pain.</p>
<hr/><p>                Class was back in session before the two girls got back. Mm. Bustier had noted the absences of Marinette and Alya and was told about what had happened by one of her students. She then turned to reassure Adrien that he did the right thing by being truthful and kind, before then starting on with the lesson plan. She had fully started into it when the door opened, and the two girls walked back in sheepishly.</p><p>                Mm. Bustier tried to give them reassuring smiles and nodding them to their seats. It didn't escape her notice that Marinette's eyes were red and swollen, but she otherwise seemed put back together. Just grateful that her student wasn't taken by an akuma, the teacher turned back to her whiteboard and continued writing out the rest of the day's lesson.</p><p>                At the end of class, once the final bell excused them, nearly everyone was out of their seats, and over to comfort their beloved class rep.</p><p>                “Marinette, are you okay?”</p><p>                "If you need anything, you can call us!"</p><p>                "Yeah, we're here for you, the same way you've always been here for us!"</p><p>                "We'll race right on over if you need someone to talk to, face-to-face!"</p><p>                "Thank you, all, really," Marinette smiled at them, standing, and giving each of her classmates a warm hug to show her gratitude. "I'm just going to go home and relax for now, but I really appreciate each of you watching out for me."</p><p>                "Well, yeah, Marinette, after all, you're our Everyday Ladybug!" Alix called out. Marinette flinched at the nickname and her eyes shot over to Adrien who was watching from just on the other side of the crowd. It was his nickname for her, after all.</p><p>                Everyone paused and followed her line of sight, some of them glaring daggers as they did so. Marinette sighed, she was still hurting, but none of this was Adrien's fault, and she needed to show that she wasn't upset at <em>him</em> for this happening. So, shoving past the pain of rejection, Marinette walked past the group of her friends, straight up to him.</p><p>                "Thank you, again, for being considerate of my feelings, Adrien," she said carefully. "I know it can feel pretty bad being on that end of a rejection, too, especially when it's someone you're close with."</p><p>                "Marinette, I'm so-"</p><p>                "Don't be," Marinette put her hand up to stop him there. "I promise, Adrien, this doesn't change anything. I'll still be your friend if you'd let me?" She was a little unsure about that. How could he be her friend when he knew how she felt about him? He'd look at her and always see what an obsessed fangirl she really was. It was too much to hope for.</p><p>                "Of course, I still want to be friends with you, Marinette! You're amazing!" Adrien cried out, sounding almost distressed. "Please, I don't want to lose you."</p><p>                Marinette smiled up at him. So, this is how Chat felt that night she told him how important his friendship was to her. A part of her wanted to channel her inner feline and hand Adrien a rose with a kiss on the check. Instead, she just gave him another smile and a nod before she grabbed her things and started walking home. It was going to be a long night.</p>
<hr/><p>                Chat Noir was running to clear his thoughts. It sucked. Marinette was a great person with such compassion for everyone around her. She didn't deserve being rejected like that. Then again, she didn't deserve to be strung along by someone who just didn't want to hurt her while harboring feelings for another girl. So, this is what Ladybug had to deal with every time he tried to sway her heart? Did she go through this icky feeling of being a jerk every time she tried to save their friendship while he tried to push for something more? Did it get easier with each time he did it?</p><p>                When he rejected Marinette's feelings for him as Chat Noir, it felt different, easier, simpler. As far as Marinette knew, he was just the city superhero that she had a fangirl crush on from a distance. It was really Mr. Dupain that had taken the rejection so hard. Marinette was pretty much over it before the hour was out and Ladybug had saved the day.</p><p>                This was different. He wasn't some stranger behind a mask. He was her friend. He was someone she saw at school every day and joked with her about silly things. They interacted in many ways and the idea of them together made sense. It was a tangible concept that was only within arm’s reach. She probably really thought there might have been a chance this time.</p><p>                Sliding to a halt and starring out into the Paris city line, Chat had to wonder if the heartbreak he felt with each of Ladybug's rejections were on par with the heartbreak Marinette felt when she was rejected by Adrien, or only as bad as when she was rejected by Chat Noir?</p><p>                If there was a worse heartbreak then the one he felt, he didn't want to know it. But the broken way Marinette looked into his eyes, he had a feeling it was only a sliver of what he put that poor girl through.</p>
<hr/><p>                Marinette pulled the last pin from the last picture and carefully removed it from the wall. Her mother, Sabine Cheng held the large stack of Adrien’s pictures with a patient smile. The moment Marinette had returned home, her parents immediately noticed that their daughter had been crying. They escorted her upstairs and closed up shop for the day so they could be there for their usually cheery little girl. When she told them about her rejection from Adrien, Sabine had to reprimand her husband, Tom, when he went into a tirade about how dare the boy break his little princess’s heart, reminding him of Weredad.</p><p>                After that, Sabine gently led her heartbroken daughter back to her room to start ‘healing’. By that, she meant it was up to Marinette to move past this and comfort her that she’s not alone. Marinette had cried a little more, seeing all the pictures on every wall of the boy she loved. After a bit, she calmed down, nodded to her mother, and the two began the process of tidying up. Or rather, Marinette tidied up and removed the Agreste propaganda, Sabine carefully held the stacks of pictures and stood by for each of her daughter’s break downs.</p><p>                Finally, the room was nearly completely void of Adrien Agreste, save for group pictures with the others or selfies taken with individuals during group events. He was still present, just as he was in her life, but he was no longer singled out in collages upon every surface. After it was done, Sabine went and made some hot chocolate and brought up some macaroons. For the rest of the afternoon, Mother and daughter sat in Marinette’s redecorated room and talked about everything under the sun. They talked about boys, about school, about the bakery, Marinette’s designs and projects, and about a few of Sabine’s old heartbreaks as well. In the end, Marinette gave her mother a warm embrace, Sabine gave her daughter a kiss on the head, and the two said good night.</p><p>                “Okay, Tikki, you can come out now,” Marinette sighed to her ‘empty’ room.</p><p>                “That was really nice of your mother, Marinette, you really did get lucky to have her,” Tikki pointed out as she came out of hiding.</p><p>                “Yeah, she’s amazing,” Marinette agreed before she started getting ready for bed. “I’m just sorry we took so long and made you wait.”</p><p>                “Don’t be, Marinette! I care about you, too, and this is what you needed after today,” Tikki reassured her. The little bug kwami flew to be eye level with her owner and smiled. “I’m really proud of you, Marinette. You took all of this with grace and dealt with it in a healthy manner.”</p><p>                “Thank you, Tikki, but I can’t take all the credit,” Marinette shook her head. “Everyone’s been so good about this whole thing. Mom, Alya, the class, even Adrien. It’s not his fault he doesn’t feel the same way, and I get that. It’s the same with Chat Noir.”</p><p>                “Do you think you’ll date Chat Noir now that Adrien, well-,“ Tikki trailed off, not seeming to know how to politely phrase the rest of her question.</p><p>                “No,” Marinette answered it anyway, shaking her head and then slipping her sleep shirt over her head. As she spoke next, she moved to sit down on her chaise. “He may not return my feelings, but I’m still in love with Adrien. It will take a bit of time for my heart to catch up with reality and let him go. It wouldn’t be fair to Chat to date him when I’m still hung up on a guy that’s hung up on another girl.”</p><p>                “You’re right, Marinette.” Tikki flew over to land in Marinette’s lap, looking up at Paris’ greatest hero.</p><p>                “I better get to sleep before it gets too late. There haven’t been any signs of an Akuma attack and I’d like to get some rest in before Hawkmoth ruins any chances I have at any rest.” Marinette held back a yawn at the idea of it. While she was happy that she hadn’t been singled out by the ruthless villain during her wreckage, Marinette was worried that it could be because someone else in Paris was going through something worse, distracting Hawkmoth from her. Thankfully, there hadn’t been a single sighting all day. Hopefully, that meant Hawkmoth decided to get a life. Marinette crawled into bed, wanting to capitalize on what little peace she’d have.</p>
<hr/><p>                Chat ran past Marinette’s house twice, and then circled back around a third time to see her light was off. He couldn’t see inside, with her curtains closed, and he wasn’t even trying to. He just wanted to be sure that she was okay. When he saw her light was off, he paused on the opposite roof on the other side of the street.</p><p>                Chewing his lip, he gave a moment to wonder if he really did make a mistake. Thinking about what might have happened if he had accepted Marinette’s feelings instead. What if, what if he just went along with them, and he actually learned that he really liked her after all? Ladybug had made it more than clear that she wasn’t changing her mind any time this century. Marinette was an amazing girl, she was cute, she was dependable, she was everything he liked to imagine Ladybug was when she wasn’t saving the day.</p><p>                So why couldn’t he get his head on straight and date the attainable ‘Everyday Ladybug’ that he’d be able to see every day instead of chasing the near mythological ‘real’ Ladybug that he really only saw during akuma attacks and special occasions? Was he really <em>that</em> shallow? Was it too late to give dating Marinette a try?</p><p>                Frustrated with himself, Chat made his way back home. He detransformed and landed on his bed face first.</p><p>                “Geeze, you turn down a girl who admits to being in love with you and you’re acting like <em>you’re</em> the one on the verge of being an akuma victim,” Plagg teased his charge as he ducked into the mini-fridge for a wedge of cheese.</p><p>                “Is there something wrong with me, Plagg?” Adrien asked from his face full of pillow.</p><p>                “There’s plenty wrong with you,” Plagg responded, opening the door to the fridge from the inside, caressing his block of stinky cheese. “I mean, you get gooey and lovesick all the time, you put cologne in your shoes, you hate stinky socks, and you don’t ever take time to appreciate a good piece of camembert.”</p><p>                Adrien had turned his head to look at his kwami as the flying black cat listed his many faults.</p><p>                “Gee, thanks,” he drawled from his spot on the bed. “And I only put cologne in my shoes that one time in an attempt to get the cheese smell out after you stash some camembert there.”</p><p>                “Exactly my point!” Plag exclaimed. “I had done you a wonderful favor of getting your shoes nice and cheesy and then you ruin it with that flowery perfume”</p><p>                Adrien rolled his eyes and shoved his head back into his pillows. This was the worst he had felt in a long time and Plagg wasn’t being very helpful. Sighing, Adrien rolled over to his back to stare at the ceiling. Guilt ate away at him as he couldn’t stop himself from comparing the two girls in his life. He loved Ladybug since the day they met, but she never returned his feelings, always claiming there was another boy. Then there was Marinette, who was officially the only girl in all the world that had told both Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir she had feelings for them, only for both to turn her down because he was in love with Ladybug. Ladybug just wanted to be friends with both versions of himself, Marinette was in love with both versions of himself. The choice <em>should</em> be obvious, right?</p><p>                The idea of dating Marinette wasn’t a horrible one. It was the idea of dating someone <em>not</em> Ladybug. It felt like he was just going for ‘the next best thing’, which was wrong. So, the only decent thing would be to forget any notion of dating Marinette and try to be there for her as a good friend, like Ladybug had done for him after each rejection. After each time he made her feel like she had to choose between losing her friend or dating someone she didn’t love.</p><p>                Groaning at himself, Adrien snatched his pillow from behind his head and proceeded to attempt to smother himself to death. The two most amazing girls in the world were in his life, and he only now realized how cruel he had been to both.</p><p>                “Uh, Adrien, you’ll be okay, right?” Plagg asked in an unsure voice from next to his bed. “I mean, Marinette looks like she’ll pull through. Sure, she had a good cry, but she seems to be doing alright.” Adrien felt a tiny paw touch his arm. He didn’t have it in him to respond. “After all, she seems like the kind of girl that can take a hit, emotionally, I mean. She bounced back after Chat Noir, she’s already bouncing back after Adrien Agreste, and she’s still friends with both of them. Even if both of them is you, but that just goes to show, Marinette will be fine. Right?”</p><p>                Adrien could hear the words his kwami was saying, but what he was really caught by was Plagg’s tone. He recognized that tone. Plagg only spoke like this when Adrien was really down on himself, usually after a ‘fight’ with his father. ‘Fight’ of course referencing the many times his father steamrolled right over Adrien without a hint of concern for Adrien’s needs or wants.</p><p>                “Adrien? Buddy? Pal? Think you can say <em>something</em> so I know you’re alive in there?” Plagg voice seemed to move around as if he was circling his owner to see the model’s face. Then Plagg’s tone changed again. “Adrien! Snap out of it! Now! An akuma!”</p><p>                Adrien moved the pillow to see if he left the tv on. How else would Plagg know that there was an akuma attack? However, he didn’t see anything when he moved the cushion. In fact, his vision darkened and narrowed near completely with only a voice to reach him.</p><p>                “Heartbreaker, I am Hawkmoth. There is no greater pain than the guilt of having hurt the ones you love. I can give you the power to mend those broken hearts and break those cruel hearts. All I ask is that you break Ladybug and Chat Noir, and bring me their miraculous!”</p><p>                “I- I can’t,” Adrien responded. He wasn’t even fighting Hawkmoth, he was just confused. How could he both mend and break Ladybug at the same time?</p><p>                “Do this for me, and you can have the power to ease the suffering of that poor girl. Or would you rather she remain in pain forever?” Thoughts of his Ladybug paradox were replaced with thoughts of Marinette. Hawkmoth was right, he needed to heal Marinette. She didn’t deserve heartbreak.</p><p>                “Yes, Hawkmoth,” Adrien agreed, forgetting his reason for having hesitated to begin with.</p><p>                “Adrien? Oh no!” Plagg whimpered before he bolted from the house. He needed to warn Master Fu right away.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. One Tough Battle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was a loud THUMP that startled Marinette from her sleep. She didn’t have time to think about what it was that woke her as she could hear the thudding of footsteps leading to the trapdoor just above her bed. Moving without thinking, Marinette rolled out of her bed and landed on her feet, grabbing a groggy Tikki as she moved. Just as her feet touched her floor, the hatch to the trapdoor was ripped open forcibly and a figure peered in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette met the violet eyes of a boy with light blue skin and messy purple hair, he wore a dark blue set of armor that reminded her more of a Square-Enix fighting game than any historical period of mankind. What was the most frightening part of him, however, was the fact that he smiled when he saw her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There you are Marinette, wait right there, I’ll come to you,” the boy called just before he started to make his way down through the trapdoor. Marinette had done a lot of stupid things in her life, but she decided listening to the Akuma that seemed to be singling her out specifically wasn’t going to be one. Not without Chat Noir at her back, and guess which little kitty was not so suspiciously missing from her house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette! Get back here!” The Akuma called out to her as Marinette quickly dashed to the other trapdoor that led into her house and ran like crazy down the steps. Her parents, who must have woken up when the hatch was destroyed, were just walking into the hallway as their daughter came down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette, Princess, what’s going on?” Her father asked, rubbing at his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Akuma in my room! Run!” She called to them, heading her way down another level. She had hoped that her warning would spur her mom and dad into fleeing with her, but no such luck as she heard the Akuma call out to them from behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A happy couple flaunting their love? Not in front of my princess!” He sneered. “Heartbreak!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette heard a chiming sound and then her parents screaming obscenities at each other. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, not them!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette wanted to scream, but she needed to get out of there so Ladybug could make her entrance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Making it to the kitchen, Marinette tried to think of a good spot to transform, trying to be quick about it. But the Akuma was faster, and just as she went to head to the closet, he had flown down the stairs and rounded in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why are you running from me, Marinette? This is for you! I’ll mend your broken heart, and everything will be the way it was!” The Akuma pleaded with her. Marinette took a breath and studied the boy in front of her. He was mentioning her broken heart? So a kid from her class, boy, likely a romantic, someone who would empathize too much with a fellow classmate that they’d get themselves akumatized for her sake. Nathaniel? Nino? She tried to focus on his voice but it was just a little too distorted by his new powers that she couldn’t place it. She studied his armor more. The chest plate was two pieces that came together as a whole, except it didn’t due to the inch gap and a heart-shaped hole right in the middle. Then she noticed in his hand he held a pillowcase that was full of tiny violet feathers. They weren’t the black feathers of Mayura, but they seemed to be cursed all the same.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she thought this she watched as the Akuma reached into the pillow sack and grabbed a fist full. He was still smiling at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, Marinette! I’ll fix my mistake,” the Akuma tried to comfort her. “I’ll make it so I never broke your heart.” The Akuma then lifted his fist out of the pillowcase. Marinette’s heart gave a painful lurch at the realization of what he just said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adrien?” She couldn’t believe it. Blinking to try and correct her vision, she instead began to see the features line up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, not Adrien anymore,” the boy shook his head with a grimace. “I am Heartbreaker, and I will see to it that I mend all the broken hearts!” Just then Marinette could hear her mom and Dad’s voice raise even louder as they told each other off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about my parents? They don’t sound like they had their hearts ‘mended’,” she pointed out to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, they got their hearts broken as a punishment,” Heartbreaker shouted waving his fist around. “Not everyone deserves a mended heart!” Just then he went to throw the hand full of feathers at Marinette, only for her to dive over the couch to dodge them. “Just let me heal you Marinette!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry Adrien,” was all Marinette could say before she grabbed the couch cushion and hurled it at her prince’s head, knocking Heartbreaker off balance. Marinette took the opportunity to jump back over the couch and make a beeline for her door. Heartbreaker still wasn’t far behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette, what are you doing? Transform already!” Tikki called out from the girl’s hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t Tikki, he’s right behind me, I can’t get away far enough to hide to transform,” Marinette panted. “Even if Adrien doesn’t remember anything from this, Hawkmoth is watching through his eyes, and if </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> learns my secret then we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> done for.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop running, Marinette!” Just for a moment, Adrien’s voice was clearer as he shouted above the distortion brought on by his akumatization and suddenly Marinette was flashing back to her fight with Chat Blanc. She had to shake her head and then jump the last few steps. She couldn’t afford to get caught up in the past while running for her life in the present.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette managed to get to the bakery, straight out the front door, and on to the street before Heartbreaker finally grabbed her by her waist and lifted her up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said. Stop. Running,” Heartbreak growled at her. Marinette opened her hands to let Tikki free. Heartbreaker, thankfully, was too busy trying to wrestle a squirming Marinette back into the bakery so he could cast his mending spell on her. Tikki was suddenly not alone as Mullo and Wayzz came up from behind Heartbreaker and all three charged straight to his head, slamming into the Akuma and giving Marinette another opening to escape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Quick Marinette! The Master is waiting for you!” Wayzz said quietly from next to her, just keeping up. Marinette nodded as she tried to put more ‘oomph’ in her sprint. Mullo and Tikki were keeping Heartbreaker busy, though they ended it once they saw the lavender outline of a butterfly appear around his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette and Wayzz had finally managed to duck into a building and hide as Heartbreaker chased Mullo passed the building they hid in. Tikki popped in through the wall right behind them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was a close one,” Tikki said while trying to catch her breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is all my fault, I need to get to the master quick, oh, and I need to get a hold of Chat Noir while I’m at it,” Marinette planned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unfortunately that was one of the reasons Master Fu sent me and Mullo to you,” Wayzz interrupted her thoughts. “Something has happened to Chat Noir, Plagg is inconsolable, we are unsure what to make of the nonsense he’s been rambling beyond that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Something’s happened to Chat Noir?” Marinette cried out. She really, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> hoped it was just her silly kitty misplacing his miraculous again, but if Plagg was as inconsolable as Wayzz said, then it had to be something serious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on, Marinette! We don’t have all day!” Tikki urged her owner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Marinette nodded. “Tikki, spots on!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette finally made it to Master Fu’s after having to take the long way to avoid Heartbreaker. Though she managed not to run into the Akuma, she could see his handy work all through the city. Couples screeching at each other and people skipping around without a care in the world despite all the chaos around them. Guess she finally got to see what he meant when he said he would ‘mend’ her heart. But now she was at the massage parlor and was able to get the help she needed to take down Heartbreaker and save her long time crush.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome, Ladybug,” Master Fu greeted her a bit more urgently than usual.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Master, I heard Plagg was here, and something happened to Chat Noir?” Marinette asked as she knelt in her usual spot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He had so much to li-i-ive for~!” Plagg cried out and Marinette gasped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he dead!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, he is not dead,” Master Fu cleared the air. “Plagg does sometimes like to overdramatize things. However, it does not look good. It seems that Chat Noir was in an accident today and is being held up in the hospital. He won’t be able to join you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette was torn between a breath of relief that her partner wasn’t dead and dread at the fact that her kitty was hurt and she couldn’t be there for him. But one problem at a time. Chat was probably seeing news about the current Akuma attack and wondering why she wasn’t dealing with it yet. Then again, without Chat this fight just got a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> tougher.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Master Fu, it’s going to take more than just a single ally to make up the difference in losing Chat,” Marinette concluded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I agree,” Master Fu nodded and then moved to fetch the miracle box. He placed it before her before he opened it up. “Here are the miraculous, choose who to fight beside you. When the fight is done, you will bring the miraculous back to me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette’s eyes danced across the many magical jewels as a plan formed in her head. The obvious first choice was the bracelet of the snake, and then her next two picks were the necklace of the fox, and a gentle request for the bracelet or the turtle. She looked back to the box and took the hair comb of the bee as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure about that one?” Master Fu asked cautiously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really,” Marinette admitted, “But it feels right.” She was about to call it good before she paused, her plan needed someone else, but what was she missing? Studying the box she bit her lip. She didn’t have time to deliberate, and none of the miraculous were really standing out to her as useful at this moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know it’s not typical, I may have to come back before too long to revise my choices,” Marinette admitted hesitantly, hoping the master wouldn’t be disappointed in her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Master Fu just nodded and smiled at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will be here.” Marinette smiled at that and said her goodbyes. She needed to round up her team and save her friend.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It hadn’t been hard to get the four chosen together. Marinette found them all right where she expected each of them to be. Luka was on his mother’s boat, Chloe was in her room, and Nino was being dragged around Paris in the danger zone by his reporter girlfriend Alya. Giving all of them their Miraculous and setting up a meeting time, Ladybug had her team.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, everyone, Chat’s laid up so I’m going to really need you guys on your ‘A’ game tonight,” Ladybug started her debrief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh please, as if that mangy cat was ever </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> important,” Queen Bee scoffed with a laugh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Chat Noir is Ladybug’s partner for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>reason,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Chloe,” Rena Rouge argued with the Bee holder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Queen Bee</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Chloe growled back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about the Akuma, Ladybug?” Viperion redirected the conversation back on topic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Heartbreaker, he’s a boy from Francoise Dupont High feeling extreme guilt over turning down a love confession from a friend of his.” Ladybug made sure to make it seem like she wasn’t close to Adrien. She knew at least three of her team knew exactly who she was talking about. From the dramatic way Queen Bee gasped, she could tell that she was correct.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, not my Adriekins!” She cried out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adriekins?” Viperion asked, “As in Adrien Agreste? So the girl he’ll target, it’s not Marinette Dupain-Cheng, is it?” Ladybug had to smile at the worry that coated his voice. Luka had made his feelings for her clear, though he also made it clear that he would rather a Marinette who loved him, not settled for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you heard about that, did you?” Rena sighed. “I got the specifics from a friend in their class. Big build-up, Big tragedy. They both took it pretty hard.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Man, I can’t believe Adrien actually got akumatized for it though, I thought it’d be Marinette for sure.” Carapace shook his head. “Not that I think little of her or anything. The opposite really!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t say I wouldn’t have agreed with you,” Ladybug jumped in. “Marinette’s been hung up on him in a huge way. I had gone to check up on her when I heard. Lucky I did cause that was the only way I was able to send some Kwami to help her escape before I could transform.” There, now if anyone saw that Marinette got saved by little flying creatures, they’d think Ladybug sent them and they hadn’t just been there for Marinette.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, wait, does that mean you know Marinette?” Rena caught onto the wrong detail and Ladybug gulped. Alright, this wasn’t a big deal, she could damage control this. “Wait, does this mean Marinette knows </span>
  <em>
    <span>you?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Rena’s eyes got huge and Marinette knew she was going to have a harder time cleaning this mess up than she thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Later, details later,” Ladybug cried out, trying to derail Alya’s ever-observant mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s right, details later,” Rena agreed with a smirk. “Don’t think I won’t remember </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dudes, not the time!” Carapace unknowingly came to Ladybug’s rescue. “We have to save Adrien!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Ladybug nodded. “Alright, the plan so far is this. Viperion, you set your second chance. Rena, I hid Marinette somewhere safe, but we still need bait to draw out Heartbreaker, that’s where you come in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“One perfect copy of the best designer in the world, coming right up,” Rena winked as she twirled her flute. Ladybug smiled at that. Even when Alya didn’t realize Marinette could hear her, she was still talking up her best friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Carapace, you stick with Viperion and keep him safe. If he goes down then it’s over,” Ladybug went back to her plan. “Queen Bee, you’re with me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” Chloe smirked with a flip of her hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“With your top and my yo-yo, we’ll trap Heartbreaker the moment he comes for the Marinette illusion. I think his Akuma is in his pillowcase, it’s the only thing on him other than his armor. If we miss him with our trap, then you paralyze him with your venom,” Ladybug laid the plan out plain and simple. She got the rounds of agreements from everyone as she nodded to Viperion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five Minutes!” He called as he turned the snakehead on his bracelet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright everyone, get into positions!” Just as everyone began to move, feathers seemed to hit Queen Bee in the back hard, accompanied by the sounds of chimes before the yellow clade hero was on the ground bawling her eyes out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug!” Rena cried out, rounding back to give the leader back up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There you are, Ladybug!” Heartbreaker greeted her. “You know, I’ve been going back and forth on what to do with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not going to touch her!” Rena shouted, spinning her flute like a baton before she launched to attack him. Heartbreaker grabbed her flute in one hand and threw feathers in her face with the other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Heartbreak!” He growled before dropping her. Rena hit the roof and started breathing heavily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude! Babe!” Carapace cried out, forgetting himself for a moment to race to his girlfriend. Viperion, keeping his cool, grabbed Carapace before he could and dragged him back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>call me babe</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Rena screamed before she stood and sharply turned to the turtle hero. She looked ready to attack him, same as when they fought Scarlet Hawkmoth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, what are you waiting for? Do it!” Carapace glared at Viperion who’s eyes were on Heartbreaker.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, this isn’t going to work,” Viperion nodded and hit his bracelet. “Second Chance!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright everyone, get into positions!” Ladybug called out. Suddenly Viperion grabbed Queen Bee and yanked her away just as a cloud of feathers sped past where she was standing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There you are, Ladybug!” Heartbreaker greeted her. “You know, I’ve been going back and forth on what to do with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not going to touch her!” Rena shouted, spinning her flute like a baton.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t Rena, he’s anticipating your attack!” Viperion called to her. Rena held back at that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rena, go,” Ladybug called to her, “Everyone else, retreat and get some distance!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you don’t!” Heartbreaker declared, closing his pillowcase and swinging it down like a club. Ladybug jumped back just before his attack could land and everyone else followed orders as Ladybug kept Heartbreaker’s attention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rena went up to the chimneys to cast her illusion while Queen Bee moved to flank Heartbreaker as he threw attack after attack at Ladybug, keeping their tactician off balance. Viperion and Carapace moved up to a vantage point so they could watch the battle safely as the girls fought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Queen Bee moved, taking advantage of Heartbreaker’s attention on Ladybug. She threw her spinning top to tie Heartbreaker’s legs together and trip him. However, Heartbreaker used his downward momentum to move into a flying stance, leaping into the air. As Heartbreaker went up, Queen Bee was taken up with him. He then banked a hard right, slamming Queen Bee straight into a surprised Ladybug, knocking them both off the roof.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ladybug moved quickly mid-air, grabbing Queen Bee and throwing her yo-yo to catch a chimney near Rena. Heartbreaker watched the trajectory of the yo-yo and threw a fist full of feathers right at the spot Ladybug landed, getting both girls at the same time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mend!” He shouted and the girls started to jump and down, giggling and dancing with each other in their arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Second Chance!” Viperion called.</span>
</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright everyone, get into positions!” Ladybug called out. Suddenly Viperion grabbed Queen Bee and yanked her away just as a cloud of feathers sped past where she was standing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There you are, Ladybug!” Heartbreaker greeted her. “You know, I’ve been going back and forth on what to do with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not going to touch her!” Rena shouted, twirling her flute like a baton.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t Rena, he’s anticipating your attack!” Viperion called to her, causing Rena to stop midstep. “In fact, no surprise attacks are working on him and he’s using them against us perfectly. He knows how to fight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, duh! He </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> in fencing, you know!” Queen Bee pointed out to him as if it was obvious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rena, go,” Ladybug called to her, “Everyone else, retreat and get some distance!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you don’t!” Heartbreaker declared, closing his pillowcase and swinging it down like a club. Everyone moved as before. Exactly as before. Viperion almost wanted to facepalm when Queen Bee hadn’t listened about not using surprise attacks and hit his second chance the moment Ladybug and Queen Bee were knocked off the roof.</span>
</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, everyone,-” Viperion didn’t wait for Ladybug to finish. He grabbed Queen Bee and Ladybug and shouted for Rena to move.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Viperion?” Ladybug called in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He keeps getting us by surprise there and I keep running out of time to explain things,” He defended his new tactic. “His fencing background is making him hard to catch by surprise. Sneak attacks don’t work, and he’s able to tell where you’re about to land anytime you leap with your yo-yo.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s Adrien for you,” Ladybug grumbled. “How many times?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is our fourth attempt,” he answered. “Then again he isn’t taking his time to take us down, I haven't even used a whole minute yet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not reassuring!” Ladybug sighed in irritation. She stopped short and turned to face Heartbreaker. “New plan!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Viperion turned to watch what happens as Carapace put his shell-ter over the two of them. There was the faint tell-tale sound of flute notes as Rena </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> got a chance to cast her mirage. Queen Bee was a little lost between the bubble shield and Ladybug, looking back and forth as she didn’t know if Ladybug needed her upfront or out of the way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> “You know, I’ve been going back and forth on what to do with you, Ladybug,” Heartbreaker admitted once again, reaching into his pillowcase.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Too bad you’re not going to get the chance!” Ladybug bantered, throwing her yo-yo in the air. “Lucky Charm!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Viperion was honestly shocked when Heartbreaker seemed to anticipate her. He had dropped his feathers the moment she had bantered with him and had closed his pillowcase the moment she threw her yo-yo. In that split second of vulnerability Ladybug had while casting her magic, Heartbreaker slammed the pillowcase into her side and sent her careening off the side of the building, unconscious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug!” Queen Bee shouted, jumping off the roof after her hero and throwing her top to catch them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, do it now!” Carapace told him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, hold on a sec,” Viperion waved him off. He learned long ago that it didn’t help to hit the reset the moment they know they’re going to lose. There was always something to learn, even in the moments after. He saw it. Heartbreaker tried to anticipate where Queen Bee was going to land and was off by a whole ledge. He couldn’t read Chloe’s jumps as well as he could Ladybug’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could, however, read her fighting style still. When Queen Bee landed and laid Ladybug down gently on the rooftop, Heartbreaker was on top of her immediately with his closed pillowcase, swinging it around, pushing Bee back until she fell again. Again she went to catch herself with her spinning top. Again Heartbreaker missed where she was going to land, but he was getting closer. He was learning her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luka took a breath and saw Marinette run out to the street below, pausing and staring up at the battle with fear and worry. Heartbreaker looked over to her and then moved. Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>to</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette, but to the chimney Rena was hiding behind, using his pillowcase to destroy it and send the fox hero flying as he did with Ladybug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Second Chance!”</span>
</p>
<p>... ... ... ...</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everyone, down now! To the street!” Viperion shouted, grabbing Ladybug with one hand and Queen Bee with the other, jumping to the street below.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Viperion?!” Ladybug shouted, concerned. As soon as their feet landed, Viperion dropped to a knee and gasped for air. She blinked at him a couple of times before she realized. “How many times?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I *huff* I lost count, *huff*” Viperion admitted. “Fifty-something. Every time it looks like we’re making headway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There you are, Ladybug!” Heartbreaker greeted the spotted heroine from the rooftops. “You know, I’ve been going back and forth on what to do with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He reads you like a book, Ladybug,” Viperion warns her. “Sneak attacks don’t work, he won’t be fooled by Rena’s illusions, he doesn’t fall for your bluff of giving him your earrings, Queen Bee can dodge him the best but he’s a quick learner and gets her on the third or fourth try. Carapace tries to trap him, but he’s too strong. He just breaks himself free.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey now! I don’t like being left out!” Heartbreaker roared, his face twisted with anger. “Just like you all to leave me in the dark! Heartbreak!” Heartbreaker yelled, throwing a fist full of feathers straight for them. They all just barely managed to dodge the attack by scattering. Viperion had recovered from whatever exhaustion his last attempt had given him and was able to take advantage of a fresh start.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Queen Bee, the lamppost!” He called out, not even having to look to know that Heartbreaker just smashed the street light to fall on top of Chloe. Queen Bee jumped back just in time and Heartbreaker glared at him. He rushed toward the snake hero only for Ladybug’s yo-yo to be thrown at him. Heartbreaker managed to leap into the air just before Ladybug’s weapon reached him, only to land right behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keeping her eyes on her opponent, Ladybug went to throw her elbow into his gut while Rena went to leap with her baton. The idea they both had was a flanking strike.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rena, don’t, he’ll move out of the way and you’ll hit Ladybug!” Viperion cried out. Rena turned her attack into a block just as Heartbreaker moved out of the way of Ladybug’s strike. Rena, having blocked for an attack, barely felt it as her knee met Ladybug’s elbow and the two recovered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re spoiling everything!” Heartbreaker screeched at Viperion. “Heartbreak!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Carapace!” Viperion turned to see his partner, but Carapace was over by Queen Bee where the two looked like they were trying to get ready for a sneak attack. “No! Second Cha-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a chiming sound before Viperion could hit his miraculous and everyone froze. They were out of second chances.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no! You heard him! Fifty-something tries, what do we do?” Rena cried out. Ladybug wasn’t sure. She watched Viperion fall under the effects of heartbreak as he dropped to the ground and curled up upon himself. With his arms folded around his knees that were tucked up to his chest, he looked more vulnerable than she had ever seen him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your turn, M’lady!” Heartbreak turned to Ladybug and she felt her stomach drop. Adrien had a habit of coming up with very coincidental nicknames. Case in point, hers being his ‘Everyday Ladybug’. As much as she loved him, it felt so wrong to hear someone other than Chat call her ‘M’lady’.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not so fast!” A new, yet strangely familiar voice called out from the rooftops. Everyone turned just in time to see Muiltimouse drop and swing by her jump rope, catching Heartbreaker completely off guard. She managed to kick him in the chest and send him across the street as she herself landed on her feet next to Ladybug and Rena Rouge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, who are you?” Rena asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Multimouse? How are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> here?” Ladybug was perplexed. How was she seeing herself right now in front of her?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, Bunnyx brought us-” Multimouse explained. At the name drop of the time traveler, Ladybug understood she was talking to a future version of herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Isn’t that dangerous?” Ladybug asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who do you mean by ‘us’?” Rena asked a more pressing question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She means me as well,” Pegasus called, dropping down next to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, aren’t you Pegasus?” Rena asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“More heroes to help, huh?” Carapace asked as Queen Bee swung the two of them over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, we wouldn’t have </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed</span>
  </em>
  <span> their help if you had done </span>
  <em>
    <span>your job </span>
  </em>
  <span>and protected Viperion!” Queen Bee sneered at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>demanded</span>
  </em>
  <span> I help </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop it, both of you! Now,” Ladybug snapped at them. She noticed that every one jumped, even Multimouse. “Alright. We need a plan, and I think it’s time I got something to help. Lucky Charm!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Throwing her yo-yo in the air, Ladybug was finally able to cast her charm. What she got out of it was a paper fan.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Feeling the heat?” Multimouse quipped anxiously. Ladybug knew herself to know that it was Multi’s attempt to channel her inner Chat Noir and fill the void of humor. Biting her lip in concentration Ladybug noticed that Heartbreaker had gotten back up and was now charging them. His fist in his pillowcase of feathers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s it!” She exclaimed. She threw the fan into Multimouse’s hands and winked. “I think you’ll be needing to borrow this. Bee, get to his flank. Rena, get Viperion’s Lyre. Boys, ready yourselves.” With that, she gave Multimouse a quick shove. Knowing that Multimouse was herself in the future, and therefore knew what was going on in her mind, she trusted Multi to get the task done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure enough, seeing Multimouse come at him head-on, Heartbreaker went straight for her, only for Multimouse to cry out ‘Multitude’ and dissolve into nearly fifty tiny versions of herself, each holding a tiny red paper fan, running in every direction around him. </span>
  <span>Rena and Queen Bee had also moved just as Multimouse did, with Queen Bee getting behind Heartbreaker for the flank and Rena Rouge getting to where Viperion was still rocking himself in despair. Ladybug nodded for Carapace to get his shield and for Pegasus to ready his boomerang.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heartbreaker, not deterred by being surrounded by Multimice, began to sprinkle the fist full of feathers around himself. “Mend!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Carapace! Now!” Ladybug directed the green clade hero. Heartbreaker, so focused on Multimouse, was actually late to react.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shell-ter!” Carapace called and surrounded Heartbreaker and the Multimice. Multimouse began to use her fan to make crossing wind currents all around Heartbreaker, making the feathers all around them start to fly in a tornado.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not going to work! I’m immune to my own feathers!” Heartbreaker shouted. Multimouse didn’t respond, just kept going, putting all her multiplied strength into flapping the fan in her hands. The feathers were distracting, and he seemed to be actively trying to avoid stepping on her for some reason, which was nice, and all was going according to plan. Then there came the tell-tale notes of Rena’s flute and suddenly the feathers seemed to have also multiplied, making it impossible to see out of the shield.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heartbreaker, not liking having his vision limited, closed his pillowcase, and slammed it hard against the Shell-ter. With the bubble-like shield shattered, feathers began to fly everywhere. Just as the momentum of his swing was about to die down, Heartbreaker had to push harder to get it to continue as he spun his pillowcase to block the two projectiles that had just come from in front of him. Just as Carapace’s shield and Viperion’s lyre bounced off his pillowcase, he watched Ladybug throw her yo-yo and Pegasus throw his boomerang. He was just in the middle of shifting so that he could knock those away as well when he also heard the sound of Queen Bee throwing her top at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Venom!” She had shouted and he knew it was coming, but he couldn’t do anything. His pillowcase was still in the swing to block the other two heroes and he wasn’t in a stance enough to dodge. He still tried. She still got him. Queen Been managed to prick him just on the back of his arm, nearly missing him, but luck had been on her side this time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unable to shift back and catch his balance, Heartbreaker fell to the ground, frozen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ladybug walked up to her akumatized friend and gently pried the pillowcase from his hands. Exhausted from the long fight she had to put a little more effort into ripping the akumatized object and freeing the little black butterfly within.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No more evil-doing for you!” She called out to it, swiping her finger up her yo-yo to open it. She spun it a bit to give it some momentum and threw it after the Akuma. “Time to de-evilize!” With the Akuma caught she flicked the yo-yo back open to free the now purified butterfly. She picked up the red fan from where Multimouse had dropped it and threw it into the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Miraculous Ladybug!” As the fan reached the apex of its arch, it burst into clouds of magic ladybugs that flew in streams all over Paris. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Adrien transform back into himself, groaning a bit as he held a hand to his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Where am I?” He asked, confused. Adrien looked around, trying to figure out why he wasn’t in his bedroom only to see nearly the entire team of heroes. Viperion was standing up from the ground and dusting himself off. Rena Rouge was retrieving weapons from the side. Pegasus was standing back and talking with Carapace. Even Queen Bee was suddenly draping herself on him from behind as Ladybug was walking up to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, my poor sweet Adriekins! Can you forgive me for not being there when you needed me?” Chloe was crying out as she crushed him in a huge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Wait, you mean, I was-” his voice drifted off and panic started to settle in his stomach. “No! I couldn’t have, I-” A calming hand clad in red laid gently on his shoulder and quieted him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Adrien. Sometimes, even the purest hearts can have their good intentions twisted. You just wanted to do something nice for your friend. It’s not your fault,” Ladybug insisted. Her smile just then was almost too much for him to bear. She didn’t know who he was. She didn’t know just </span>
  <em>
    <span>how bad</span>
  </em>
  <span> him getting akumatized was. Taking a breath and filing it under ‘things to talk to Master Fu about’, Adrien plastered a smile on his face and thanked her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to happen next, but having Multimouse shove in from behind Ladybug to wrap her arms around what parts of him that weren’t already claimed by Chloe, wasn’t it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mar-Multimouse!?” He called out. Now he really felt bad. Marinette had to be called to help with him? She shouldn’t have had to help someone who broke her heart! What was Ladybug thinking?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank goodness!” She cried into his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I know you don’t know me, just, thank goodness you’re alright.” She couldn’t have known how much it warmed him to hear her say that. He leaned in to hug her back and was grateful that this time she let him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug, I need to go, I’m about to transform back,” Viperion called over to the spotted heroine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you going to make it home before then?” She asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Honestly, I don’t think so. Think you could give me a lift?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should be able to, yeah. How about the rest of you?” Ladybug looked at everyone else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should be fine, Ladybug,” Chloe called from where she was trying to subtly shove Multimouse off of her Adrien.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can get home as well,” Multimouse raised her head to respond.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I may need a little help,” Carapace admitted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, my darling boy, I’ve got you covered,” Rena Rouge joked with a wink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, I hate to ask but-” Adrien rubbed at the back of his neck. Considering he was just akumatized, he didn’t think he’d be getting even a chance to be left alone enough to transform discreetly. Even if he was, he didn’t see Plagg anywhere anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, my friend,” Pegasus walked up and smiled down at him. “Bunnyx assured me that I was to be your ride home.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bunnyx? She was also part of this?” He asked. Just how bad of an Akuma was he?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about the details,” Ladybug assured him. “Just know that you’re safe and we plan to get you home safely as well.” With that, she wrapped an arm around Viperion’s waist and the two went off into the night. A part of him wanted to envy Viperion, but he knew Luka wasn’t even remotely interested in Ladybug. Then again, Marinette was still only just now letting go of him, mainly thanks to Chloe finally succeeding in shoving her off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, if you’re okay, I guess I better get going now,” Multimouse smiled at him. “See you tomorrow, I mean, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>won’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> see you tomorrow, or rather I hope I won’t cause that would be bad. Not that it’d be bad to see you, just that it’d mean that I’ve been called to help, you. Well, not you specifically- I mean-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, Mousey, let’s get you home before you </span>
  <em>
    <span>officially </span>
  </em>
  <span>blow your cover,” Rena sighed with a facepalm. Internally she wondered how she was the only hero in Franciose Dupont that could keep a secret identity. The only reason Nino knew was because of Ladybug, and Ladybug had apologized beforehand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adrien watched as Rena shoved Multimouse in the direction of the bakery before she grabbed Carapace and started off toward the opposite direction. Multimouse only looked back once and gave a smile and wave before she also took to the rooftops.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really though, Adrien, next time you feel down, just call me. Okay?” Chloe spoke softly into his ear, her grip on him shifting slightly and turning into a warm hug. She gave him a firm, though not too tight squeeze that reminded him of his mother’s hugs before she backed away. It wasn’t entirely strange that Chloe hugged like his mom, it was Emily Agreste that taught the two how to hug people in the first place. She really was the sister he had always wanted and he really wished she showed more people this softer side of herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See you at school, Chloe,” Adrien called out to her. She turned and smiled at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See you at school.” And like everyone else, she was off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alone with Pegasus, Adrien finally stood up and dusted himself off. He saw that Max was waiting for him patiently, a smirk on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s with you?” He asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You seemed really happy to see Multimouse,” Max grinned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what of it. It’s great to see a new hero. I’m happy you guys got a new teammate,” Adrien defended himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, cause she definitely didn’t immediately remind you of someone you know?” Max laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course not! I mean, she, and, well,” Adrien laughed. “She’s not very good at hiding who she is, is she?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She told me herself that she was surprised to be trusted with the mouse a second time. I was confused by what she meant but it didn’t take long to see,” Pegasus shook his head and chuckled. “I like Marinette and all, but I don’t think Ladybug will be bringing her back if she can’t learn to keep her identity a secret.” With that, he activated his voyage and created a portal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, and how do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> know Marinette?” Adrien teased, remembering that he isn’t supposed to know Pegasus is Max. Pegasus grinned back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He replied before he took Adrien’s arm and shoved him through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adrien stumbled into his bedroom, looking the same as before he suddenly woke up in the street. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Damn, he’s good</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He thought to himself as he realized that if he hadn’t been there as Chat Noir when Max was chosen for Pegasus, he wouldn’t even consider the techno-enthusiast of being the horse hero.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just as Adrien was collected again, he heard thudding and suddenly his door opened. Frozen in place, Adrien met eyes with his father who seemed a bit out of breath. Gabriel Agreste blinked back at his son for a moment before clearing his throat and composing himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adrien,” His father nodded to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, father?” Adrien responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I heard there was an attack near the school,” Gabriel explained. “I’ll be honest, something about the attack seemed off to me and I-” Adrien watched his father flounder for a second before he took another breath and continued. “I suppose I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Ladybug had quite a large group with her this time, so it must have been bad.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adrien felt warmth rush through him like an explosion at that. His father was worried about him. He wasn’t just worried, he had looked nearly terrified when he had burst through his door. As much as his father tried to cover it up and hide it, he knew his father cared. Not really caring if he got reprimanded for it, Adrien rushed to his father and wrapped his arms firmly around the man, in a true, grade ‘A’, Emily Agreste style hug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t alright, but I think I will be now,” Adrien admitted. It took a moment, but he finally felt his father return the embrace just the same and the two stood there for a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, that’s plenty of that now,” Gabriel stammered, flustered, as he started to pull away from Adrien. Adrien let the man, giant grin still splitting his face. “Good night, Adrien.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good night, Father.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, this got away from me, so instead of only two chapters, I'm going to wrap it up in a third. Whoot! Get ready for Chapter Three: Epilog!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Wrap Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Where the time travel is explained, Master Fu floors Adrien, and Ladybug has a mini-meltdown.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
  <span>Ladybug swung across the rooftops with a transformed Luka in her grasp. Her earrings had just started to give her warning by the time she set him down a block from his boat and gave him a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, bug out,” she said in lieu of an actual ‘goodbye’. But Luka grabbed her arm first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Ladybug, I know I shouldn’t, but I have to ask,” He gave her a concerned look. “Multimouse, that was, I mean, she wasn’t-” He took a breath and seemed to calm his thoughts. “Please don’t put Marinette in danger, Ladybug. I know she’s capable, but I don’t think I could stand her getting hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ladybug blinked at him. Was she really </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> easy to read as Multimouse? She didn’t think she acted any differently. But this did make things convenient.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, Luka. I don’t often call on Multimouse and only when I’m out of options.” She wasn’t lying, so it made it easy to give him the half-truths of the situation. “I care about Marinette’s safety more than anyone might think.” She gave a mental laugh at that. She might not have the world’s best sense of self-preservation, but it wasn’t like she was as bad about throwing herself in danger as Chat Noir was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Ladybug.” Luka smiled. Hearing her earring beep again as she lost a second spot, Ladybug gave him a wave and rushed off. She needed to get to Master Fu’s quickly before she got stuck on the opposite side of Paris. After all, her job wasn’t done yet.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Marinette made it only a couple blocks away from the massage parlor before her last spot disappeared and her superhero outfit faded from her, leaving her in her pajamas. She ignored the chill of the night air suddenly hitting against her bare arms and seeping through the thin fabrics of her nightclothes. Instead, she ran the rest of the way to Master Fu’s and didn’t even bother knocking before she rushed inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marinette, congratulations. I just saw the ladybugs work their magic from my window,” Master Fu greeted her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, Master Fu, the job’s not done yet. I need to borrow a couple more miraculous,” Marinette pleaded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Master Fu was confused but trusted Marinette. She had shown time and time again that she was more reliable than anyone he had ever met in the many </span>
  <em>
    <span>many</span>
  </em>
  <span> years he had been alive. So, without wasting time, he gathered the box out and opened it for her to browse the magical jewelry within.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette scanned the box and pulled out the glasses of the horse, the necklace of the mouse, and the timepiece of the rabbit. It was at this last one that Master Fu seemed to grow doubts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That one is especially dangerous, Marinette, and not one to be used lightly. I trust you, but I need you to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Marinette could see the worry in his face. It wasn’t without cause. Bunnyx had made certain to get it across to Marinette just how finicky time could be and how important it was to respect its rules.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Master. I just need it to complete a loop,” she ‘explained’. At the mention of a time loop, Master Fu relaxed a little, understanding that Marinette really didn’t have a choice in the matter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I hope that means you know who to trust it with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Without a doubt in my mind.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Ladybug knocked on Alix’s window. The tomboy rushed over and threw the pane wide open for the superhero to climb through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ladybug! I just saw on the news, you just defeated that Akuma! It was awesome!” Alix cheered. Ladybug smiled back before schooling her features.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I couldn’t have done it without you, Alix,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, I didn’t do anything?” Alix asked with a tilt of her head. Ladybug lifted her hand that held the rabbit miraculous and Alix’s eyes went wide. “Wait, you mean it’s time?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ladybug nodded and gave her spiel. “Alix Kubdel, this is the miraculous of the rabbit, which grants the power of Evolution. You will use it for the greater good. Once the job is done, you will return the miraculous to me. Can I trust you?” Alix gave a firm nod as she reached for the box.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Totally!” Alix clicked the watch’s crown and fluff shot out from it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it yesterday already?” The little white Kwami asked with a twitch of its nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fluff! Clockwise!” Alix shouted, having remembered watching her older self. Once her friend was transformed, Ladybug started to go over the plan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. Here is the miraculous of the horse, it needs to go to Max Kante, and this is the miraculous of the mouse, it goes to Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Now, this is important, you cannot tell anyone your identity or the identities of the other holders, not even to the other holders, got it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, sure Ladybug, but why are you telling me?” Alix asked. Ladybug didn’t think it was a good time to get into the topic of her fight with Chat Blanc and Bunnyx’s hand in it, so she figured to go the simple route.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cause </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> can keep a secret,” she said with a wink. Alix smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, so, if you’re using time travel, then how far back do you need me to go?” Alix impressed Ladybug, she was pretty smart and already thinking like the time hopper they met a month or so back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About thirty minutes. Max should be home, but Marinette will be hiding in the entrance of the Faris St. Boutique where I left her. Make sure to tell Max that Pegasus needs to hold off using his voyage so that he can get the akuma victim home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awesome sounds like a piece of cake,” Alix nodded back to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d think that,” a new voice called from the other side of the room. Just as a flash of bright light faded, Bunnyx all grown up stepped out of her time burrow. “But time travel isn’t something to learn by ‘trial and error’. Lucky for you, I’m here to act as your mentor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bunnyx?” Alix gasped happily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s right,” Bunnyx smirked back and crossed her arms. “To be honest I’ve been looking forward to this since I was a kitten. I love fulfilling time loops, it’s so satisfying. Oh, twenty-five, keep that age in mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Time loops?” Alix asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep, we’ve got a lot to cover. First things first, you’re still a kitten yourself, so you’ll only be able to activate the burrow once. I’ll lead the charge this one time and show you the ropes, but after that, it’s up to you. Got it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing!” Alix grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Ladybug I’ll take things over from here. If memory serves, and I remember my first mission perfectly, you have </span>
  <em>
    <span>somewhere</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be right now.” Bunnyx gave Ladybug a wink and Marinette knew exactly what she meant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, thank you!” With that Ladybug swung off. She needed to hurry to the spot she told Alix she was hiding. Once there, she detransfromed. She felt a wave of exhaustion hit her almost immediately and she stumbled against the door frame of the storefront.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marinette! Are you okay?” Tikki cried out in worry over her owner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m fine. With the emotional exhaustion of today and the physical exhaustion of tonight, I think I’m a little overdue for a good night’s rest,” Marinette sighed and righted herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And it’s not even over yet,” Tikki sighed. “I know we saw that things will work out, but please be careful Marinette.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will,” Marinette smiled back to Tikki. Just then the light from the time burrow popped open and Tikki hid behind the store’s marquee. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette watched as a young Bunnyx stepped out of her time hole with confidence and pose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I’m Bunnyx. I’ve been sent by Ladybug who needs your help.” At this point, Bunnyx lifted the hand that held the mouse miraculous. “To be honest, I don’t remember how it goes, but this is the mouse miraculous and you’ll need to give back to Ladybug when you’re done with it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Again? But I thought-” Marinette made a show of being confused before accepting the little wooden box. “Well, if Ladybug needs me, then I’ll be glad to help out!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as she put the mouse necklace on, Marinette felt another wave of exhaustion hit. Sure, she managed all miraculous at once before, but not while this drained. Still, she needed to push through it to save Adrien.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Marinette! I’m so honored to get to work with you again!” Mullo squeaked happily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s good to see you too, Mullo. Are you ready?” Marinette asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready when you are!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright! Mullo, Get Squeaky!” At that, a light gray glow surrounded Marinette and faded to show her in her other superhero alter ego.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So cool!” Alix breathed out in awe. “Alright, Supermouse, let’s go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, it’s Multimouse,” Marinette corrected her patiently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, okay. Multimouse! Well, let’s not keep Horseboy waiting,” Alix grinned. When the two moved back into the burrow, Multimouse saw Pegasus and the older Bunnyx waiting for them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Mini-Me, this time it’s all you. Use this window and touch it just at the surface level, don’t push too hard, and just twist your wrist slightly,” Bunnyx couched Alix. A part of Marinette envied Alix for actually getting a mentor on how to properly use her powers, but Bunnyx had a point earlier. Time travel wasn’t something you would want to be left unattended in the hands of someone inexperienced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, hello there,” Max greeted Marinette. “I’m Pegasus, you are?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m Multimouse!” She introduced herself. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You know, cause we’ve never met before now and I’m meeting you for the first time. Right?” Marinette took a second to realize she was already tripping on herself again. Going back over what she had just said, she hadn’t said anything that could have told Pegasus she was Ladybug, so why did she feel like she needed to cover it up all the more?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s right. We haven’t. But I’m sure it’d be nice to work with you,” Pegasus smiled as he readjusted his glasses. “It’s always an honor to be chosen by Ladybug.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? I mean, yes, yes it is! But I knew that cause I got to be chosen once before and to be honest, I’m kinda surprised I was trusted to be the mouse a second time. It’s a really important job and it has to be taken with the utmost seventy- I mean severity. It’s a severe job that we need to do.” Marinette pushed her thoughts clear. She felt the fog in her mind cloud her judgment just a bit. Maybe she should have taken off her earrings before activating the necklace? She really was off her game at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pegasus looked at her for a long moment before his lips cracked into a wide smile. “Don’t worry, Multimouse, I’ll be there to cover for you. I watch out for my friends.” Marinette blinked at that. He was already calling her his friend? Course they were already friends at school, but he didn’t know that. Then she remembered Luka asking Ladybug to not call on Marinette anymore. Was she really </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> easy to read right now?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah! Is that it?” Alix asked, her voice filled with ‘awe’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pegasus and Multimouse both moved to look over her shoulder. Through the window, they could see the fight between Heartbreaker and the other miraculous holders, but the image was laggy and glitchy, causing it to jump all over that place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on? It looks like a static charge build-up in the main tube of a vintage RCA New Vista.” Pegasus asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s Viperion,” Bunnyx explained. “The snake miraculous and the rabbit miraculous don’t work well together at all. At least not at the same time. We can’t enter his time bubble and we can’t jump in from before the bubble was made. We’ll just have to wait for Viperion to be taken out by Heartbreaker. Then use what information he hopefully passed on to the others to finish the job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone nodded and watched as the images finally became clear. Marinette saw Viperion grab Ladybug and Queen Bee, and led them off the roof and to the street just below. There was a pause in the battle as Luka tried to fit an explanation while Heartbreaker came up the side and then flew over the buildings to find the group of heroes. Things went exactly as Marinette remembered, though it didn’t stop her from flinching at Viperion getting hit with the Akuma’s heartbreak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And that’s your cue, Mini-mouse, PonyBoy,” Bunnyx called, shoving them through. They landed on the roof just above the fight and could see Heartbreaker turn from Viperion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your turn, M’Lady!” Heartbreaker called out, making Marinette shiver. Even a second time hearing it, she just didn’t like Adrien using Chat’s nickname for her. Keeping her script in mind from when she was in Ladybug’s shoes, Multimouse jumped down, using her jump rope to swing into Heartbreaker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not so fast!”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Hawkmoth was frustrated. Adrien had easily proven to be his strongest Akuma yet. He wasn’t entirely sure what exactly had broken his son down so badly at school that day, just that it had something to do with that girl, Marinette. The rest was just the feeling of guilt caused by an indecisive heart. For some reason, Chat Noir hadn’t shown up the entire night, though Hawkmoth had already disproven the idea that Chat Noir and Adrien were one and the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not only was there a lack of the Cat miraculous, but Ladybug kept calling in more and more heroes to help her. That snake one being the most infuriating of the lot. He could see, just as Adrien could, the effects of it as Viperion kept giving the others heads up just seconds before Heartbreaker could land a hit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pride had filled Hawkmoth when Heartbreaker had finally beaten the hero of intuition and leveled the playing field. The sheer look of fear on the heroes' faces as they saw their demise upon them gave Hawkmoth a sense of glee. But then two more heroes showed up out of nowhere and for some reason the mere sight of that damn mouse girl caused Adrien’s broken heart to waver. It was almost as if a switch had been flipped and though Heartbreaker kept fighting the heroes, he was slow. His consideration of the girl, Multimouse, caused him to give the rest of the team openings he didn’t previously have.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the end, Ladybug and her lackeys managed to defeat Hawkmoth’s perfect akuma, and the villain growled in frustration, only for it to grow into an agonizing scream. He landed on his knees with a ‘thud’ as he cried out his anger. Natalie watched stoically from behind him, giving him the space he needed to regain his composure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wings fall,” Gabriel Agreste sighed in defeat. He detransformed and sent Nooroo back into hiding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shall I send a car to fetch Adrien, Sir?” Natalie offered, keeping her mind at the task at hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need. Those </span>
  <em>
    <span>heroes</span>
  </em>
  <span> will no doubt bring Adrien home on their own accord,” Gabriel sneered. Just then he had the thought, they would bring Adrien home, but how? Where? Which one of them? He could use information like that! If he set a trap at the home of his next victim for when Ladybug dropped them off, he could catch her and take her miraculous then!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>New plot in mind, Gabriel Agreste raced his way to the elevator, up to the next floor, out of his office, and straight up the stairs to his son’s room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only to see Adrien already standing there looking surprised to see him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adrien,” Gabriel cleared his throat and collected himself. He masked his disappointment at having missed the heroes drop his son off, and cursed them for being so efficient.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Father?” Adrien responded. Gabriel then spent the next few minutes trying to cover up why he had run so unceremoniously into his son’s room, rambling on in a lie about having seen the attack on the news. “I suppose I wanted to make sure you were alright. Ladybug had quite a large group with her this time, so it must have been bad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The way his son’s face lit up warmed his heart. Before he knew it, his son was wrapping his arms around him, just the way his mother had taught him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t alright, but I think I will be now.” Gabriel felt a sharp ping in his chest at the admission. He had hoped that Adrien’s pain could help him save his mother. It would have been just poetic enough that it seemed like a good idea at the time. So, instead of talking with his son after sensing that pain, he chose to use it. Never again. His son should have always been the one safest from the Akuma. Gabriel saw that now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrapping his arms around his son to return the embrace, Gabriel gave himself a moment to remind himself what this was all for. He couldn’t lose himself in his role as the villain. He needed to remember that it was all a means justified by the end. This was for his son’s happiness, as well as his own. But most importantly, this was for Emily, and he should not have used the son of the perfect woman to do such dirty work.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The next morning, Adrien woke up to tiny paws batting at his nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wakey wakey, snoring beauty!” Grimacing, Adrien gently patted Plagg away from his face and rolled back over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only to sit up in bed instantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Plagg! You’re back!” Adrien cried out in relief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep. And I have some news from the master,” Plagg jumped straight into it. “He wanted me to tell you that ‘Chat Noir’ was in the hospital during last night’s Akuma attack after being in an accident yesterday, and so he should be very careful not to jostle his injuries for the next two weeks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, really?” Adrien asked. He was floored. That was all the master had to say on the matter of him getting akumatized? No threats or warnings to never let it happen again? No demand for him to give the ring back? Just a cover story for why he wasn’t there when Ladybug had needed him most? “Are you sure that’s it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, he also said that you could stop by if you wanted to talk about what happened,” Plagg shrugged, “But yeah, that’s it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien blinked and looked at the time. He needed to get ready for school, he knew at least three of his classmates knew about his akumatization last night and would be worried about him. Four, depending on if Ladybug had gotten help from older Bunnyx or had finally given Alix her miraculous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! I almost forgot!” Plagg called as Adrien went to head to the shower. “He also sent me with a gift. Something he whipped up special for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien whipped his head around to see where Plagg was pointing. On the coffee table was a thin black bangle. It seemed inconspicuous enough, not really his usual style, but if it was from Master Fu, it was more than likely more than what it seemed.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Marinette got to school late, as usual. After having to fight Heartbreaker twice over, while wearing two miraculous, on top of the general exhaustion of the day before, three hours was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> enough sleep. So, having ignored her alarm clock for an extra hour of rest, her mom finally poked her head in to let Marinette know that a broken heart was not a good enough excuse to miss school.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Having been reminded of Heartbreaker, Marinette remembered that she had wanted to check in with Adrien today and make sure he was doing alright. And so, here she was tripping her way into the classroom while Mm. Bustier was trying to get the day started for everyone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A quick reprimand from the teacher and an embarrassing walk of shame to her desk, Marinette was in her seat and ready for the day. She met eyes with Adrien who had turned in his seat just long enough to give her a quick smile. She smiled back. When he turned back around, Alya slipped Marinette a piece of paper that she had written a note on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Late night, Mousy?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette blinked a couple of times, then looked at Alya with a disbelieving look. Alya was pretending to not see her, her hazel eyes on the front of the class. Marinette quickly wrote back.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Aren’t we supposed to keep our ID’s a </span>
  </em>
  <span>secret</span>
  <em>
    <span>, Rena?’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>She shoved the paper back with a glare. She thought Alya was more trustworthy than this!</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Whoa, what are you talking about? You’re acting all squirrely and tired. How does that make </span>
  </em>
  <span>me</span>
  <em>
    <span> Rena Rouge?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Alya smirked and slid the paper back to Marinette. Marinette glared at the paper and then slowly realized her mistake. Yes, Alya shouldn’t be dropping hints to her teammates, but she wasn’t the one who flat out said anything. Besides, Chat was even worse about it but in reverse. She still remembered every time she had to ignore him bringing up a hint about his personal life, tiny things that could easily get him caught if she knew who his secret identity was. She knew he wanted her to know, and he knew he could get away with skirting the rules if he made it seem like enough of an accident that she found him out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thinking of him brought a cloud over her head. She still hadn’t heard anything from Master Fu about how he was doing. It killed her to think of her kitty alone in a hospital bed. She always assumed he would be the kind of guy who had a lot of friends and a big family. As loud and boisterous as he could be, she couldn’t see him in a small hospital room resting in total silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘I hope Chat is alright’</span>
  </em>
  <span> she wrote, changing the subject. Finally just agreeing to have this one moment of sharing her thoughts as a superhero. So long as Alya thought she was just Multimouse, it would be a lot safer than being known as Ladybug. For starters, Multimouse apparently can’t be trusted with a miraculous, therefore Ladybug now had a good reason to never give it back to her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I hadn’t seen him in the fight last night’</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Ladybug said he was laid up. Don’t worry. That Alley Cat will be scampering around and bugging our Ladybug before you know it.’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette smiled at that.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘I hope you’re right. Last night might not have been so tough if he was there.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Oh? What’s this? Crushing on the cat?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette felt her ears get warm at the implication. She glanced at Alya to see her best friend wiggle her eyebrows, Chat Noir style, and looked away in embarrassment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alya gasped. “Oh my God, you are!” She whispered harshly in excitement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shhh!” Marinette tried to quiet her friend before they got in trouble. It didn’t work. Mm. Bustier threatened them both with a trip to the principal if they didn’t stop socializing and start paying attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the day went smoothly. Or as smoothly as her class could get. Once they hit lunch break everyone started chatting immediately. Nearly everyone grouping around Adrien.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Saw the news last night, man, you good?" Kim asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Dude, you know you can call us when you have problems. We aren't </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette's friends after all," Nino reminded him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, welcome to the club now! You're officially a part of the Akuma Class," Alix winked at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"WAIT! NO!" Chloe shouted from her seat. "This is terrible!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Chloe?" Adrien called to his childhood friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't you see what this means?" Chloe whined in distress. "Dupain-Cheng is</span>
  <em>
    <span> officially </span>
  </em>
  <span>the only one in our class that hasn't been akumatized!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone froze and looked over to Marinette in 'awe'. Realizing that it would be bad to be singled out, Marinette knew of one way to blend back into the crowd.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, that's not entirely true~" she started. Already everyone was surprised. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What!? When?" Someone cried out. She wasn't sure if it was Alya or Sabrina or both. They weren't the only ones who spoke though, so there was no point in deducing which exclamations belonged to which classmate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It was a while back, during that, uh,</span>
  <em>
    <span> misunderstanding</span>
  </em>
  <span> that got me suspended," she explained, forcing herself with will power she didn't know she had to not glance back at Lila. "Thankfully, Ladybug must have been nearby because she dealt with it before I could even transform into 'Princess Justice'."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone shifted where they stood in guilt as they remembered how many of them openly accused her of something she had been later proven innocent of. It hurt all of them to hear that the incident nearly had even worse consequences for their forgiving friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Speaking of which," Alya broke the silence. "I'm starting to see just </span>
  <em>
    <span>how often</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ladybug is saving you in the nick of time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette felt the color drain from her face. "Wha- what do you mean?" She asked with a nervous laugh. Alya laughed more confidently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, nothing, just that I might not be the 'best' best friend that you can ask for after all." Alya left it at that with a wink. Marinette felt relief. She can live with Alya thinking she was Ladybug's friend. Maybe even distance it more to seem like Marinette is friends with a girl that </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> be Ladybug but 'she's not certain'.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, man, do you wanna come over to my house and play some UMSIII after school?" Nino asked Adrien as the two got ready for lunch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sorry, can't. I have Chinese Lessons " Adrien sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait. What?" Marinette couldn't prevent her outburst. She knew Adrien's schedule forwards and backward. And she knew he didn't have any lessons right after school. Not until his karate class an hour later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, sorry guys," Adrien shrugged dejectedly. Marinette hoped he wasn't lying just to avoid them. Nino was right. They were all his friends. But if Adrien wanted to be alone for a bit, she didn't think forcing her company on him would be the best idea.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>After school, Adrien went straight for Master Fu's massage parlor. He had to rely heavily upon Plagg's directions as he had never been to the Master's place before. All five times the two have met had been Master Fu coming to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once there, Adrien knocked and walked inside. It was actually pretty similar to what he was expecting which surprised him a little. And in the room, Master Fu sat kneeling on a pillow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Welcome, Chat Noir," Master Fu greeted him with a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Master," Adrien nodded back before kneeling on the cushion across from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I imagine you are here because you need someone to talk to about last night?" Master Fu inquired.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, sorta?" Adrien admitted. "Really I was wondering, why aren't you mad? I got akumatized. Doesn't that mean I'm not fit to be Chat Noir?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Master Fu regarded Adrien for a moment, seeming to think carefully about what he wanted to say next.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Adrien, do you know exactly how many young men are even remotely qualified to bear the burden of destruction, as well as the burden of the safety of the holder of creation?" The guardian asked. Adrien shrugged. "One. One young man in all of Paris, in all of France, have I found to be worthy of holding the cat miraculous." Adrien flushed a little at that. "Now, where is the wisdom in confiscating the ring from such a rare youth, for one mistake?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien didn't have words. He sat there in contemplative silence while he let Master Fu's words sink in. Then he had another question. "If, and I'm sorry if this sounds abrasive, but if you think so highly of me, then why don't you meet up with me more? Like you do with Ladybug?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Master Fu nodded and stroked his beard. "Did you know of all the times Ladybug has visited my parlor, I have only ever invited her here once? It wasn't even her first visit. I called her for a favor in dropping off a letter for me." Master Fu paused and looked up in thought. "Though I suppose twice now, as I called her here last night so that I could warn her that you were in the hospital."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't invite her?" Adrien asked, bewildered. "But, then how did she know about you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Simple," Master Fu smiled. "Tikki brought her." Adrien blinked a couple of times. He had met Tikki before and knew she was Ladybug's kwami same as Plagg was his. Which meant….</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien glared straight at the black cat kwami who was just in the process of taking a giant bite of cheese. Sensing Adrien's eyes on him, Plagg paused before turning to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What? You want a bite?" Plagg asked, purposefully misreading the look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If you could have brought me here, then why hadn't you before?" Adrien snipped at the little cheese addict.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey now, there were rules put in place. I was only allowed to bring you here under very strict circumstances," Plagg insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Those being?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If kwami, meaning me, needed healing due to sickness or injury. If a miraculous broke. If suddenly summoned like today. If a missing miraculous was found, or anything pertaining to the miraculous such as the book of guardians," Plagg recited the list in a bored voice before throwing the large wedge of cheese in his mouth whole. "You know, boring stuff." He added that last bit with a muffled voice from a stuffed mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait, the book of guardians? Like the one my dad has? Plagg! Why didn't you say something? We need to 'borrow' that book again!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That will not be necessary," Master Fu interrupted. "Ladybug had noticed the book in your possession and 'borrowed' it shortly. Tikki led her here so that we could take pictures and she could return the book to its rightful owner."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What? Ladybug stole the book from me?" Adrien felt a ping of betrayal at that. "She, she could have just asked…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There was a working theory at the time that whoever had the book, also had the butterfly and peacock miraculous. She did not know that Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir. She just knew that the book contained important information for the guardians of the miraculous," Master Fu explained Ladybug's actions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, that's why she thought my dad was Hawkmoth before he got akumatized himself," Adrien deduced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is there anything I can clear up for you, Adrien?" Master Fu asked. He gave Adrien a patient smile, letting the boy know that asking anything wouldn't bother the elder in the slightest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, I think, I think I'm good for now," Adrien sighed. He appreciated Master Fu giving him this. He still didn't feel all that close to the man, but he did feel better knowing that Ladybug had earned her relationship with the guardian and he wasn't just being left out for no reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see. Then please, take care,” Master Fu nodded as Adrien stood up. When Adrien went to bat the wrinkles out of his pants, he saw the bangle on his wrist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, real quick. You made this for me, right? So it’s most likely not just an ordinary bracelet?” Adrien asked, pointing to the metal ring that hung limply on his arm. “Plagg won’t tell me anything about it or how to use it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry,” Master Fu reassured him. “Just wear it when you go to transform and it’ll help sell the story to Ladybug, as well as Hawkmoth who no doubt noticed your absence in the last battle. I would suggest keeping it on for at </span>
  <em>
    <span>least</span>
  </em>
  <span> two weeks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien nodded and thanked the master before he started on his way home. Now he was even more curious than ever what the bangle did.</span>
</p><hr/><p>Ladybug was making her rounds, keeping an eye out for anything out of the norm. Jumping the gaps between buildings and dodging railings, she noticed a black figure sitting on a ledge of a building not too far up ahead with it’s back to her. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized that silhouette and rushed closer. She managed to keep relatively silent, not quite ready to disturb his peace as she studied him.</p><p>
  <span>“Little kitty sitting on a roof, all alone without his lady,” Chat Noir sang the little ditty that she had come to associate him with. She came up from behind and gently sat next to him, only causing him to jump slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, hello there, M’lady,” he greeted her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now that sounds better,” Ladybug hummed, leaning her head back. “I like Adrien and all, he’s a cool guy, but hearing </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> call me that was, weird.” Ladybug opened her eyes and looked at Chat Noir to see him blush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Adrien called you that, huh?” He asked with a waver to his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but I can’t blame him. Technically it was ‘Heartbreaker’ who called me that, but it doesn’t matter,” Ladybug smiled at him. “Only my kitty gets to annoy me with that dumb nickname.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir looked back at her in surprise and then his face split into his signature Cheshire grin. “Well, M’lady, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s starting to grow on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As if!” Ladybug scoffed. “I’ve just concluded that if I were to hit you on the head for every time you’d call me that, you’d be permanently concussed, and I rather </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> send you back to the hospital. Speaking of, how are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir looked at her and then shifted to show her his left arm, which was bound in a cast from the base of his fingers just short of his elbow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Snapped my wrist pretty good,” he explained. “Looks like my miraculous recognized my need for this particular accessory and let it transform with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ouch,” Ladybug hissed in sympathy pains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Sorry I couldn’t come help last night,” Chat’s voice dropped and Ladybug could see that he genuinely meant it. “But at least you were able to manage without me, so that’s reassuring.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not thinking about it clearly, Ladybug smacked Chat Noir on his good arm, hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ow! What was that for?” Chat cried out in offense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Barely! We </span>
  <em>
    <span>barely</span>
  </em>
  <span> managed without you last night,” she chastised him. “I didn’t want to get into it cause I didn’t want you to feel bad about having to </span>
  <em>
    <span>go to the hospital</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but if you’re going to use last night to be down on yourself, then by god I will give you the play by play!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ladybug?” Chat blinked at her, taken aback by her sudden anger.</span>
</p><p><span>“Seven! It took </span><em><span>seven</span></em><span> back up heroes to make up for you not being there. Rena Rouge, Viperion, Carapace, Queen Bee, Pegasus, Multimouse, </span><em><span>and</span></em><span> Bunnyx. If you haven’t noticed, that’s </span><em><span>two</span></em><span> time-manipulators, and we </span><em><span>still</span></em> <em><span>barely won</span></em><span>,” Ladybug huffed a little and then wiped a hand to her eye. She had started crying halfway through her outburst, and she felt bad about shoving it in Chat’s face. It wasn’t his fault, he couldn’t be there, and that had to be eating at him. But he was going to say he wasn’t needed anymore. She knew him enough to know when he started to get down on himself, and he </span><em><span>needed</span></em><span> to know just how important he was to the team, to her.</span></p><p>
  <span>“Ladybug, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean,” Chat Noir stumbled for words. He rubbed at the cast on his arm and bit at his lip. “You really think that highly of me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I do, you stupid cat,” Ladybug muttered, her voice was already raspy from trying not to go into a full-blown meltdown. “I could hardly fight Heartbreaker, but you would have been a perfect match for him. Besides, I always feel safer when you’re around. You’re my Chat Noir, you always protect me. No matter what.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel like I let you down this time,” Chat sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t let me down,” Ladybug heaved a big breath to calm herself down. “You’re human, Chat, we humans aren’t perfect.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir looked over to his Ladybug. She was fully recomposed after her tiny meltdown. He felt like he just got another secret glimpse at the girl underneath the mask. The girl who, despite all her bravo, was just as scared and lost as everyone else and had too much weight on her shoulders. The girl who depended on him to help her carry that weight so it wouldn’t crush her. The girl that trusted him so fully that she leaned on him even when she was trying to stand strong. The girl he was still, stupidly, madly, hopelessly in love with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew he was screwed, but he couldn’t help but smile anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, my lady.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was supposed to just be an 'epilog' where Chat and Ladybug talked, but then I wanted to expand more on the time travel part of this and then I felt like fleshing out Master Fu in this particular story, it just got away from me like the last two chapters did. But it's over now.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am torn on whether I should have tagged Akumatized Adrien or not, . . . Meh, I'll fix the tags after a while. Don't want to spoil the fun.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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